Sweet & sour whole fried fish

The dish originated from Shandong, China and is a popular dish in Australia due to its sweet and sour flavour profile.

Credit: Photography by Vincent Lim.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 whole snapper (around 900 g)
  
• 1 litre vegetable oil
  
• ½ tbsp sesame seeds, to serve
  
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced on a diagonal, to serve

Batter

• 1 egg, beaten
  
• 1 cup cornstarch
  
• ½ tsp salt 
  
• 1 tsp white pepper
  
• 1 tsp chicken powder

Sauce, to serve

• 1 tbsp ketchup
  
• 2 tbsp light soy
  
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
  
• 75 ml water
  
• 3 tbsp white vinegar
  
• 2 tbsp hot vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Score vertical slices on a slight diagonal along both sides of the snapper approximately 3 cm between each slice.  
   
   
2. Place the fish onto a large plate and coat in the beaten egg, turning both sides.  
   
   
3. On a separate plate, combine the cornstarch, salt, white pepper and chicken powder.  
   
   
4. Add the fish to the dry ingredients and pat the dry ingredients onto the fish and rub it into the slices.
   
   
5. Heat a large wok filled with the canola oil to 180˚C and immerse and fry the snapper for 8 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.  
   
   
6. Remove the fish from the wok and drain the excess oil into a bowl and set aside.
   
   
7. In the wok over medium heat, combine the ketchup, soy, water and white vinegar.  
   
   
8. Add 2 tbsp of hot oil to the sauce and stir to combine. Turn the wok on high heat and cook the sauce, stirring constantly, until bubbling.  
   
   
9. Place the fish on your serving plate and pour over the sauce. Top with sesame seeds and top with spring onion.  

Notes

• A wok is preferable for this dish although not necessary, a pan and pot will suffice.
• Snapper is best for frying since it doesn’t crumble as easily as a barramundi does.

Photography by Vincent Lim. Styling by Vincent Lim. Food preparation by Vincent Lim.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.